Tragedy
by LillithAltair
Summary: Tragedies can happen when they are least expected. And sometimes even the strong can fall victim to the calls of evil. When conspiracies are abundant within Team Rocket, peoples' lives are jeopardized. Rocketshippy PLEASE READ REVIEW!
1. Nightmares Can Haunt

Disclaimer: I do not own any Pokemon or Pokemon characters, they all belong to the rich officials who invented them, and yadeyadeyada......just read the story. ;)

Chapter 1: Nightmares Can Haunt.....

The epiphany of dawn dared to come out of hiding from the dizzy tormenting peacefulness of twilight and night. Its glowing appendages crept slowly, unsurely, and cautiously from under the oppression of darkness that held it under the Earth, keeping it from warming the world. Birds of the morning began to stir and sing melodies of the lost world, then paused for a moment. It seemed as if the dawn was being beaten back by darkness for a minute, but then continued on its path around the world, fleeing from and pursuing the darkness at the same time.

Inviting aromas carried by a hospitable warm zephyr surrounded and engulfed her being, tickling her from the outside-in. An excitement clicked in the young woman's mind as she saw that around her there was a wonderful field of fragrant colorful blossoms and grasses, looking like velvet when touched by the warm zephyr. Beautiful mountains ready to be conquered loomed to one side, evergreen forests to the other side, and a rock cliff with a magnificent waterfall loomed to the other side. On the open side, the young woman gaped at the most beautiful sky she had ever seen in all her years. The sky was composed of darkness and stars, happy blue fluffy space, hazy mysterious twilight, fresh morning-bright sun shone, the emotional beauty of a sunset, and also a hint of black angry stormy sky. This oasis had it all. 

The young woman dashed up a soft hill just to skip down again into the field of flowers, letting the momentum of going downhill carry her faster. She leapt into the fragrant and intoxicating petals, feeling nothing but joy. She giggled with a childish and carefree attitude. Looking at the whimsical sky, she rolled to her back and sighed contentedly, studying the foreign, yet familiar sky. Sweet songs traveled along the zephyrs, luring her into slumber. Just as she started nodding off to the melodies of the heavens, she sat bolt upright.

She heard something. Upon listening closer, she knew she had heard a distinct joyous laugh. Annoyed that her nap had been disturbed, the young woman picked herself out of the flowers and headed to the rock cliff-waterfall-lake area, where she was sure she had heard the laugh from. She was now positive she was heading in the right direction because she heard the laugh again and broke into a run towards the base of the waterfall.

Her breath came up short upon seeing who owned the laugh. She felt empty at realizing that this was who she had ached for, even though she was happy, she had a nagging feeling that something, or someone, was missing from this perfect land. The emptiness was soon filled with relief, more joy, excitement, and she couldn't place what else. Well, she knew what other emotion filled her, but couldn't say it, not yet.

As she ran towards the waterfall, she stared into two deep emerald pools that led to the soul of her best friend in the whole world. Such a good friendship as theirs wouldn't be split for the world. The young man with green inviting eyes perked up at the site of his comrade with the deep sapphire eyes. The blue-haired young man with green eyes was tall, very handsome, fit, and above all; he meant the world to his female friend. She meant the world to him, too; her fiery personality defined by her long gorgeous red hair, and her inner coolness that was defined by her eyes. Her beauty, figure, mind, and personality were what also defined her. Jessie and James were the best of friends.

They greeted each other near the fall of crystalline water, before the male friend grabbed her hand and led her under the waterfall and up a secret passage that would eventually lead to the top of the rock cliff. Excitement of an adventure energized them both as they climbed up the dim passage to the top. The female had no idea where she was headed, but she trusted her male companion and didn't worry about where they were headed. She thought for a minute that it was a bit odd that they would be wearing white toga-like robes made of flowing, heavenly silk, but figured that she kind of like the angel-type ethereal clothing. 

Soon, after giggling, talking, and much laughing, they reached the top of the cliff upon exiting the passage. From the summit of the cliff, all of the land was visible. As the young woman looked around, she felt a wave of dizziness and overwhelming overcome her. All different stages of the sky and all different beautiful climates surrounded her. She breathed in the soft air as her friend slipped his hand onto the small of her back. She exhaled the sweet air in a pleasant sigh. She wanted to stay like this forever, although she wished she could be closer to her male friend.

Suddenly, a bird sounded an alarming chirp then began to sing a mournful melody into the zephyr, which would deliver the haunting song through the field, forest, mountains, and cliff. 

The hairs on the young woman's neck stood on end and she turned to her male friend and they held each other closely, as they did when frightened for support, as the dark stormy part of the sky seemed to conquer and cover the other welcoming parts. The land turned to darkness. The birds and animals disappeared, the fields started to flame as lighting struck down from the angry black clouds. She watched in horror as the water of the flowing waterfall, which was less than a few inches from her foot, darkened to a sickening crimson that resembled the essence of life. Her fears were confirmed as the pungent stench of metallic salty warm blood entered her nose along the whipping winds that, which took over the gentle zephyrs. She could also smell the burning of vegetation from the field along with the cold smell of rain.

She hugged her friend closer to herself, burying her body into his strong one in fear. As she buried her head into his strong chest for protection, she felt safe. She had always wanted to be safe. Suddenly, while in the middle of enjoying the safety of being held in her partner's arms, an evil flash of electricity split from the heavens, separating the two. Her once angelic white flowing gown was now covered in blood. Blood from the waterfall, blood from herself, and blood from her partner. She panicked upon seeing him sprawled on the rocks just as she was, and saw that his robe was in the same state as hers.

The storm raged on, rain, thunder, lightning, and howling wind threatened anybody or anything that got it their way. A rock was knocked off the cliff by these forces and she didn't hear it hit the bottom for a long time, which frightened her. She could not fall off this cliff.

After noting the height of the cliff and trying not to think about what would happen if she or her friend did fall, she turned to her now recovering friend who was rubbing his head where he had hit it on a rock. She turned just in time to also see the cackling clouds prepare to send another bolt of energy to them. 

Her heart told her what to do next. She jumped in front of her best friend as she took the full shock of the electric current for him. Time seemed to go in slow motion for her after that. She felt pain throughout herself and could now feel a warm substance trickling down her nose and mouth and could feel it exit various other cuts and wounds on her body. She wondered, how can this heavenly oasis turn into such a living hell?

The next thing she saw gave her more energy to hold on. Her caring and compassionate friend had placed her head into his lap. He gently stroked her hair and begged her to hold on. She started to say her goodbyes from the world, whatever world this was, she wasn't sure, but she knew that she wasn't going to last much longer in her state. He squeezed her hand as he cried. She wanted to tell him so badly now. She wanted to just let out her emotions, but she knew that he wasn't going to take her death easy as it was, so she decided against telling him. Just as she said her last goodbye and could feel herself being drained of that world, she looked into his emerald eyes and then to the angry sky one last time. 

The sky seemed to give off a taunting laugh as she watched in horror as another bolt of electricity charged for her friend. She changed her mind suddenly.

"I love you........," she managed to get out of herself just as the vicious lightning bolt struck her loved friend and she fell deeper into the dark abyss that awaited her.

(A/N: Please review! I thought of the whole plot while on vacation, and I think I have the whole plot figured out. Well, tell me what you think. The next chapter will be up soon.)


	2. Awakenings

Chapter 2: Awakenings

Jessie woke to find herself tangled in bed sheets and covered in a sticky, cold sweat. She shuddered, for it reminded her of being covered in blood in her dream. Breathing hard, she placed her hand over her quickly beating heart until she calmed down. She thought about her weird nightmare and wondered what its purpose was. She could still remember almost every detail vividly, as if it had been real. Upon remembering the nightmare, second by second, she remembered how it ended. She bit her lip to hold back tears at the thought of her partner, James, and herself dying together.

She looked to her alarm clock. '4:30.....Damn!,' she thought. She wouldn't be able to fall asleep now, so she decided to go to the kitchen for a glass of water. She quietly crept out of the bedroom she shared with her team mates, with trained agility, to not wake them. James and Meowth were sleeping soundly on the bed next to hers, she noticed, before heading to the kitchen. James, Jessie, and their pokemon friend Meowth, had to share a small one-bedroom, one-bathroom cabin with a tiny kitchen and small living room for the time being. 

The Boss still had them working on the Pikachu Project, but less than they had been before. Now they were also given smaller missions which included robbing small businesses, pokemon centers, and parks for pokemon while following the twerps around. They were always traveling and on the go following Ash and his Pikachu.

One thing that Jessie, James, and Meowth could count on was a low salary. They got paid close to nothing. They were lucky if they got one decent meal a day. More often than not, they would have to get by with an apple each day or they would have to resort to stealing and scrounging around to get food to survive. A few times, actually, more than they could remember, they had to go without food for a few days straight. They were also forced to sleep on the streets in the alleys, on playground slides, on park benches, and on the forest floor when they were following the twerps around.

When they were extremely lucky, they would get to stay in one of the more run-down Team Rocket cabins. Tonight, they were extremely lucky. A small cabin with two springy twin-sized beds and other small rooms was a luxury for them. There was a time when they would have cringed at the thought of living like they did, but now they were used to it. Their pay kept on getting deducted and the threats of being fired were stronger with every meeting they had with The Boss.

That man was an unforgivable, ruthless, heartless, mean, despicable, perverted bastard to put it nicely. Jessie, James, and Meowth had always hated him and had alwayd been afraid of him. But, they learned that they could hat and fear him even more on one unlucky day. They had been late for their meeting because of the twerps and had also failed to bring The Boss many pokemon. They were yelled at, degraded, and threatened. After minutes of that, they had snapped. James yelled at The Boss in defense of him and his frightened friends. Jessie was shaking and her head was bowed. That was so unlike her. James knew she was trying to hold back tears. Meowth was standing upright with an expressionless face. James hated what this man did to his friends. James told Giovanni, their boss, that they were trying their best and told him to leave them the hell alone.

That was the day they all learned to hate and fear Giovanni more. That was the day Giovanni struck James across the face. That was the day Giovanni had forcibly and roughly kissed Jessie against her will. That was the day James struck back. That was the day they had an even more drastic pay-cut. That was the day they were assigned a change in their mission. That was the day all of their benefits were cut. Now, they were close to being jobless.

When they returned to their decent hotel room that day to pack out, Jessie had cried. James had comforted her and cried also. Meowth consoled them both. At least they were going to go through this together.

They were still together. Presently, they had managed to get to stay in this small cabin in Jhoto only because the team scheduled to be there had left early. Only on rare accounts did things like this happen, though.

Jessie was grateful for the running water in the cabin as she filled her glass. She closed her eyes after taking a sip of the cool water and thought about her eerie and haunting nightmare. She also thought about James. She loved him, her heart said. Her mind wasn't completely convinced though. It still had its icy barrier to be broken.

"Jess, what are you doi-?," started James. He woke up when he heard Jessie cry out slightly in her sleep, and had decided to follow her to the kitchen. Jess had spun around quickly on her heel to face him, and the glass dropped near her foot, shattering. He had interrupted her train of thought and startled her. Her nerves were on edge from lack of sleep and her nightmare. She screamed slightly, more of a gasp, actually, as the glass hit the floor. Upon realizing what happened, she put a hand over her mouth and looked up to James with a scared expression.

"Jess, don't move, you might step on some glass," ordered James with concern. She sighed and silently cursed herself for being so jumpy. She also knew that James would be asking questions that she wasn't ready to answer. As she pondered everything while James went to get things to clean up the glass, she started to feel desperate and teary-eyed. When James started to walk into the kitchen with a broom and a towel, he was about to speak, but before he knew it, Jessie had walked right over the crunching glass, and into his arms. The broom and towel were replaced by Jessie in his arms as he held her while she cried again.

"Shhhh, Jess. It's okay. Shhh.......it will be alright," James gently comforted his partner. Once she had cried a great deal and calmed down a bit, James continued. "Jess, what's wrong? What's the matter?," he asked her. 'I wonder what she's so upset about? I hope that incident with Giovanni isn't troubling her still. I swear, I will kill him if that is the case,' thought James as he slowly rocked Jessie back and forth. A few minutes ago, Jessie's knees had given out, and James lowered both of them to the floor near the kitchen. 

"Jess, tell me please. What's the matter?," he tried again. "It's not Giov-," he tried cautiously, but was cut off.

"No!," Jessie snapped through her tears. "It's just.....it's just......well, I don't know......we can't keep living like this. That's all," Jessie started. James nodded knowingly, letting her continue. "I wanted to be somebody and make something of myself." She gave a small sarcastic laugh at that comment. "I hate this job, I need a break or something. I don't know," she paused and inhaled deeply to try to calm herself before continuing. "James, how come things never seem to go right for us?," she finally asked, looking into his green comforting eyes.

"Well.....," he started. He didn't have an answer, for he wondered the same thing, but he had to say something. Jessie was looking up into his eyes from inside his loving embrace with teary eyes pleading for an answer, like it was needed to survive. James was amazed at how she could act hard and callous to the twerps and other people, but then become softer with an almost childish innocence when she opened up.

"I don't know why things never seem to go our way. But I do know that we will only be stronger for it in the end." James said the only thing he could think of to reassure her, even though he didn't believe his own words. "

"When will that be, though? It frightens me to know that the end could happen any time. When will the day come that we finally get 'blasted off' too far? Or when we go without food for too long? Or when Giovanni finally decides that we have 'better uses'?" Tears were now streaming silently down her face. The 'better uses' part was referring to the time when Giovanni had tried to seduce Jessie on that horrible day. And if they were fired, well, no member got away knowing the secrets that they know about Team Rocket. They would be killed for sure. James was silently weeping also. He didn't know what to say to this, so they just sat there on the floor holding each other close for support.

"As long as we stay tagetta, we will be all right, Jess. We are da greatest team eva! Now, don't start signing our death sentences yet, we hafta stay positive." Meowth had heard them talking and crying, so he came to investigate. He hated seeing his team-mates depressed. He had to cheer them up, he decided. 

"Oh, Meowth!" Jessie had burst into another fit of tears at his heartfelt comments. They were all now hugging each other. Quickly, tears turned into slight laughter, as they realized how ridiculous they must look with their wet faces all huddled together. James wiped his eyes with his wrist, then spoke with a smile on his face.

"Meowth, you always come at the right moment always knowing how to cheer us up! And we are the best team ever, aren't we?!," James encouraged proudly. They were all laughing and in much better spirits now. Then Meowth remembered something.

"Hey! I forgot to tell youse guys! Tamorrow night dere is a party, and we are all going! We need to get out and have some fun," said Meowth enthusiastically. He had obviously completely recovered from the little 'meltdown' everybody had before, but Jessie and James still weren't.

"But Meowth, we can't........if The Boss found out........we'd be in trouble for going instead of stealing pokemon. And we can't afford to get in trouble anymore. You know what would happen.......," Jessie looked to the floor and bit her lip at the thought of what would happen. She would become Giovanni's 'pet' and they would all be killed. James rubbed her arm for support. He knew that even speaking their boss' name scared her.

"Jess, don't worry! One of the Elite members is throwing the bash, so Old Gio can't hassle us. He encourages other members to 'socialize' with the other teams, in hopes that they could work tagetta and learn someting! If what we do is Team Rocket-involved, then I'm sure that da Boss would be for it," reassured Meowth.

"Actually, it would be nice to do something fun for a change. You know, instead of worrying about stealing or when our next meal will be. What do you say, Jessie?," James asked.

"Well......I guess we all need to get out. So, tomorrow night we go to that party, right?"

"Right," James responded and nodded. Meowth smiled and hopped off to bed. 

Jessie yawned and stretched her arms out from James' hold on her. She had obviously decided not to tell James or Meowth of her nightmare. At least not yet.

"We should get back to bed now. I know we are all tired. And I know you were having nightmares, again, Jess," James added. "But we all should get a few more hours of rest, then you can tell me about it if you want, in the morning. Alright? Oh! And we need to clean up this mess! Don't worry about it, though. I'll pick the glass up; you probably need more rest than I do anyway." James smiled at Jessie as he stood up. He offered a hand to help Jessie up, who smiled in thanks to his volunteer to clean up.

"Ouch! Damnit!" Jessie forgot that she had walked right over glass earlier, and that a few shards were stuck in her feet. She stumbled slightly when standing up, but James quickly helped her over to a chair. 

"Hang on a second." With that, he left the living room and returned with a pair of tweezers from the first aid kit that was found in the bathroom. 

"Now just hold still," James carefully pulled out each tiny shard of glass from the bottom of her feet. She winced slightly every time a piece was pulled, but she had been hurt worse, so it didn't really bother her. James inspected the bottom of her feet for any remaining shards, and found none.

"There, finished. All better, no?," inquired James as he cleaned her feet with a cold wet wash cloth to make them feel better. He finished by kissing the bottom of each foot as parents would do to their childrens' knees to make them feel better when they fell off their bike.

"Yes, much better. Thank you." Jessie flashed him a smile. 'I am so lucky to have a guy like him around. I don't think I would be able to live without him. If I never met him, by life would surely be worse,' she thought as she looked into his caring eyes.

"James, you really mean a lot to me, and I'm glad we are a team. I mean, you are my best friend.....Hell, you're probably by only friend other than Meowth and our pokemon. But you don't have to be so good to me......But, you always have thought of others before yourself.........Well, most of the time." They both laughed at their reputation of being selfish, heartless, and evil.

"You mean a lot to me, too, Jess. And I like helping my friends and making them feel better. I don't know where I'd be if I hadn't met you and Meowth," he said. 'I also love helping and pampering the woman I love,' he thought.

"Same here," she replied. 'The intensity of his eyes are too strong. I feel as if they can see my thoughts and soul. He might find out that I love him. There, I finally admitted it to myself. I love James.' Jessie's thoughts seemed to leave her in a daze. After a few seconds of intense eyeing, Jessie looked away and spoke.

James was also thinking to himself. 'God, her eyes are so intense and deep. I can almost see her soul. She looked away now. I guess she could feel it, too. She is co cute when she's nervous. I really love her. I don't think I can hold back.......I've waited too long. I can't stand it......'

"Thank you, James. I really should get some more rest, you know. Because tomorrow night will be busy and I don-," her babbling was cut off. James' lips were pressed to hers, silencing her. She was shocked for all of a nano-second, then seemed to melt into the kiss. She trusted James with her life and had hoped for him to love her back, but she had too many love-scars to act upon her feelings because he meant too much to her to lose. James had snaked his arms to the small of Jessie's back, pulling her closer. Jessie had her hands entwined with his blue locks. Their lips parted, inviting each other to deepen the kiss. Their tongues danced together and Jessie moaned slightly. They continued to kiss, letting out all of their emotions for each other that had been muffled for many years. Finally, they discovered the need for air, and had to part their lips to breath. They breathed heavily, swept up in emotion, looking into each others' eyes, no longer afraid of letting the other know how they felt.

"James-," Jessie started.

"Jessie, I love you. I can't keep it in any longer. I love you, Jessica, with all my heart and soul," said James. "If you don't feel the same......"

"No, James. I love you. I feel the same. I love you so much, it scares me. I want to be with you, James," confessed Jessie. Both of their eyes were twinkling with love now. They knew it was meant to be.

"I want to be with you, also, Jessie. We are living a difficult life right now, but I promise that everything will be better for us. If we work together, nothing can stop us." They joined in another kiss, with as much intensity as the first. They stayed like that for a few minutes, before Jessie stood up.

"I love you James. I'm so happy I told you, now." She stopped to yawn. "But I'm really tired. I'm going to bed now. 'Night, James. Thanks for cleaning this up for me. I can't wait for the party."

"Good night Jessie. Don't let the bedbugs bite!" He chuckled at his joke and went to clean up the broken glass and things. They both looked forward to the next day now. Hunger and troubles in work wouldn't bother them now.

(A/N: Please review. I hope this chapter clears up any discrepancies from the last chapter. Thanks to Thorned Rose for helping me out and reviewing! You are great! Well, I will try to get the next chapter up soon. It will be about the party. Ok, thanks for reading this far!)


	3. The Party

Chapter 3: The Party

Upon waking up from the emotional night they all had, Jessie, James, and Meowth prepared to leave the Team Rocket cabin that they were staying in, before other agents came and found them there. They ate a small breakfast consisting of stale cereal found in the kitchen cupboards before finally heading out to see if they could catch or steal a pokemon for The Boss before the party that would occur later that night. James had also pocketed a good amount money he found under the mattress of his bed, but decided to keep it a secret until they were really in trouble. As they were walking out of the cabin and into the forest, Meowth, who had been smirking all morning, spoke up.

"So....did yous guys get da glass picked up all right?," Meowth asked as innocently as he could muster.

"Um.....yeah, it was swept up just fine, Meowth," replied James while Jessie blushed slightly. Meowth just snickered to himself then smirked even more at their responses to his 'innocent' question. "Meowth, why are you looking at us like that?! Cut it ou-.......Wait! Oh, Meowth! You were spying on us, weren't you?! Weren't you?!" James angrily asked. 

Meowth burst with happy laughter, tears threatening to come from his eyes in joy.

"What? Did yous guys really expect me ta just go off ta bed, leaving yous two alone like that, and not spy?" Jessie and James both looked only mildly shocked. They should have known better. "I'm so happy for yous two! I have been countin da days till yous would finally tell each other how yous feel! Now we are even more of a team! By the way yous kissed each other, I'd say that yous are really in love and that it will last a lifetime!" With that, they all hugged and laughed, happy that they were now closer than ever and that now, they had more motivation to succeed.

After hiking for a few hours, they reached a city town called Amberton that had no gym or Pokemon Center, but was bustling just the same. It was a queer city with many businesses, large and small, and a few tall buildings. At one side of town there were the nice homes with decent honest people. On the other side of town there were the run-down apartments, homeless walking the slums of the streets, and a few small and dirty shops. Both of these communities were brought together by the busy city between them. 

A few hotels, restaurants, and night clubs were scattered around the city. The rest of the city consisted of business buildings and stores. At the edge of town was a pokemon pet shop with many choice pokemon. 

"Hey, Jessie, James. Look ova dere! See that pet shop? I think we should bust into dat place before going to da party. What do yous guys think?," asked Meowth. They weren't into the city yet, just on the border of the forest and the city outskirts.

"Sounds good to me. I mean, if we go to the party and get in trouble, then it would be a good idea to have some pokemon caught so maybe The Boss will go easier on us or they can protect us or something," Jessie agreed. James nodded and they began to plan their attack. They couldn't be caught, because if they were to enter Amberton again later that night for the party, they couldn't be recognized. 

They decided to just send Weezing in to use a smoke screen attack, then they would rush in and take a few pokemon without being noticed. They had done it before, but they had recited their motto and the twerps had come and screwed things up. This time, they would not say their motto and there would be no twerps to screw things up. 

Once they were nearer to the shop, they hid behind some bushes and sent out Weezing.

"Ok, Weezing, just go in there and use a smoke screen. And make it the thickest one ever, got it?," James asked his pokemon, who nodded in reply. They all had their fingers crossed that this plan would work. They all watched Weezing float through the store doors. Once they heard screaming and Weezing sending out smoke, they rushed into the store. They each blindly searched the store for any pokemon while holding their breath as best they could. Jessie and James each grabbed one pokemon while Meowth made sure they didn't get attacked by the other people in the shop. 

A man in the shop stumbled into James and tried to beat him and take the Eevee he was holding.

"Meowth! Over here!," James coughed out through the thick smoke. They had to make their exit soon before they suffocated. Soon, Meowth was scratch-attacking James assaulter. Jessie had managed to fight off somebody trying to stop her and was making her way over to assist James and Meowth. James' attacker had now started strangling Meowth and shaking him for scratching. 

The Eevee James had been holding had escaped when he tried to assist Meowth in getting rid of the man. Jessie finally found James and Meowth through the smoke, with difficulty, and led them out of the store. As they left, James called back Weezing and they made a run for the forest.

Jessie still had the mischievous Tediursa she had grabbed. Once they had run far enough into the woods till they couldn't hear peoples' screams for help, they hid behind some bushes and examined their catch.

"Yay! We finally stole something!," exclaimed Jessie.

"Hell yeah! We haven't actually succeeded in a long time! It feels great!," James also exclaimed. The Tediursa tried squirming out of Jessie's arms and was proving difficult to handle.

"Maybe we should celebrate later at da party, guys. Get dis ting in a pokeball before it runs off," Meowth suggested. They thanked Weezing and passed their time talking of everything and nothing at all, till the sun started to set.

"Jessie, I want to show you something. Come here." Jessie barely nodded as James took her hand and led her out of the safety of the bushes towards a large boulder in the forest, sitting themselves on it.

"What is it, James? What's wrong?"

"Shhh.....," he silenced her by placing two fingers over her red lips, then he replaced his fingers with his own lips. Meowth watched, from the secrecy of the forest foliage, his two companions kiss, silhouetted by the beautiful crimson and orange sunset. He felt extremely happy for his two friends because he personally believed that they were meant for each other and are soul-mates, and Meowth isn't one to believe in things such as destiny and soul-mates. After a few minutes of sharing the kiss, Jessie and James broke apart.

James took Jessie's hands, turning her towards him, so that she was framed by the gorgeous sunset. 'God, she's so beautiful,' he thought. A streak of red in the sky matched Jessie's hair almost perfectly and the other fiery colors complimented her hair and lips, while making her sapphire eyes seem like cool icy pools of water in a flaming atmosphere. Again, they kissed, not able to fulfill their want and love for each other.

"Look," James broke their kiss, pointing towards the lowering sun.

"It's really beautiful, isn't it?" James nodded absently to Jessie's question, for he was too transfixed on the beauty of the sunset.

They stayed on top of the boulder, letting time pass and Meowth join them, until the first star appeared in the darkened sky.

"As much as I want ta stay and watch da sky all night, we should probably get going to da party," stated Meowth suddenly, breaking the silence of the cool evening air.

"He's right, James. We really should go now," said Jessie as she got up off the boulder.

"I'm coming. I'm coming," James said as he stretched and got up.

With their new Teddiursa in hand, Jessie, James, and Meowth ventured out of the forest, into the city. Since they attacked the store under the cover of Weezing's smokescreen and because it was now dark outside, they didn't have to worry about being recognized, so they just removed their white Team Rocket logo shirts and walked straight into the city like they lived there. After almost forty-five minutes of wandering the city streets, following Meowth's lead, Jessie stopped, frustrated.

"Meowth! You said you knew where this party was! You better remember quick because you are the only one of us who supposedly does know!" Jessie had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot, showing her impatience.

"Calm down, Jess. It has to be somewhere around here. I heard of this party about a week ago from Mondo, but I only told you guys about it yesterday because I diddn't think we would be travelling through here, and I sorta forgot," Meowth nervouslt admitted, then quickly continued at the sound of Jessie's foot tapping the pavement faster. "Anyway, Mondo informed me that it was somewhere near the old abandoned clock tower," he paused and sheepishly looked to his two friends' expectant and impatient faces before continuing. "And that is all I know," he finished. Jessie glared at him for his unspecific information.

"Well, I can see the old clock tower a few blocks over, so we can't be too far away," James said, trying to liven up his companions. Jessie sighed again and started walking towards the tower.

After about ten more minutes of walking, they could start to hear the beat of music. They saw a very drunken and drugged man through the darkness exit a building and walk crookedly down the street, trying to call a taxi, even though there were none driving by. Only a few impoverished people lived in this part of the city, which was made up of mostly abandoned buildings and apartments. So, there were no cars or taxis driving down the streets. It would be at least three miles before a taxi could be spotted. The trio watched the man stagger off through an alley. They walked towards the beat of the music emitted from the building the man exited.

"Finally! We find the party at last!," exclaimed Jessie as she opened the door the man came out of. Raucous laughter and booming dance music met their ears. Inside, the building appeared to be an old warehouse that was set up for this party. The party was now well under way, as it was now ten-thirty.

"Ahhh....party life!," James said, letting the door close behind him.

"Bye guys, meet ya later in the morning at the 'hotel'," Meowth said before suddenly running off to his own activities., without giving Jessie or James a moment to protest or ask questions.

"Well, I guess we're on our own now," Jessie whispered in a sultry voice into James' ear, nibbling it slightly. James was a little bit surprised at her show of affection, but didn't mind.

"Oh no, what are we to do now?," James mischievously responded. He held Jessie to him and they shared a deep kiss.

"Come on, I want to order a drink." Jessie pulled James towards the bar. As they headed over to the bar, they passed a few rockets that they had seen or been acquainted with and many rockets they had never seen before in their lives. They also noticed that a crowd of Rocket girls seemed to be gathering around a table with a snobbish and drunken man talking away. They figured that this party was his. Everyone was either drinking at the bar, puking or having sex in the bathroom, or sitting at a table, but the majority of the people were dancing to the blasting music. There was actually a large amount of people and the building proved to be a lot larger than it looked.

Once they got to the bar, they screamed over the music to the bar-tender what they each wanted. They finished their drinks quickly and then went to the dance floor among many other sweaty dancing people. They danced the whole night, occasionally stopping for another drink. As the night wore on, they were slightly tipsy and were having a great time. Around midnight, they went to the bar for another drink and to catch their breath.

"Good party, huh?," James screamed so Jessie would hear him over the music. She nodded, finishing her drink. She was drunk by now and James wondered when she would start with the babbling. They had had the same amount of drinks, but James took alcohol better than Jessie did, which was why he was still only slightly buzzed. jessie smiled crookedly at James after finishing her drink.

"Jess? Are you okay? I don't think you should have any more alco-," James stopped short in an attempt to lunge forward to catch Jessie as she fell back from her bar stool. She groaned on the floor, holding her head and was somewhat dizzy. James helped her up into a standing position.

"I think we should leave now, Jess," stated James.

"But I wanna stay! I promise I won't have any more drinks," said Jessie as convincingly as she could in her slightly drunken state.

"Well.....I suppose we could just dance a while longer."

"Yay! Come on, let's dance!" They danced for about ten more minutes when they mutually decided to turn in for the night. They made their way out of the building and walked around the block to the 'temporary hotel'. Most of the Rocket members who attended the party had nowhere nearby to stay, so they decided to use the abandoned hotel building as a place to stay for the night.

"I hope there are still rooms left," said Jessie as they followed other Rockets to the hotel.

"I'm sure there will be some at the upper stories," James reassured his girlfriend. The alcohol was now wearing off of her and she would have been able to drive safely in mild traffic. Passing an alley, they caught a glimpse of a pokemon scurrying around, which reminded them of something.

"I wonder what Meowth is up to. He just ran off," said Jessie.

"He said he would meet us in the morning at the 'hotel'. Oh well, I guess he had other business to take care of," concluded James as they walked through the hotel's main doors. They searched in silence for suitable and unoccupied rooms to sleep in. On the third and final floor, they finally found an empty room. Now it was around 12:45 AM, but they were not tired yet.

The room had a small bathroom, one bedroom, a tiny kitchen, and a main room. It wasn't as trashy as they thought it would be, though, for there was still a bed, couch, and other various furniture in the rooms. The only light came from the window and a lamp in the bathroom. There was a chair by the window, which overlooked the nicer part of the city. The sky was clear and black with a humble scattering of stars and a full moon.

Jessie sat down in the chair to look at the lunar sphere. James stood behind her, watching her look at the moon. Absentmindedly, he stoked her long red hair and she closed her eyes and sighed, reveling in her love's touch. She stood then and faced him, moonlight framing her body, and she gently kissed James' lips.

"I love you, James," she simply stated.

"I love you, Jessie. I have always loved you," he responded. They joined again in a passionate kiss, letting their tongues mingle. 'God, I love her so much, it almost hurts. I've never really had anything to lose, but now......now I have my whole world to lose. That scares me, but I love her very much, and the feeling is mutual, so I won't worry about anything now. I love when she kisses me. Damnit! I need to snap out of this, she's talking to me,' James mentally hit himself for getting lost in his thoughts during their kiss.

"James, I want to go to bed now. Please come with me. You make me feel safe," Jessie repeated a second time.

"Yeah, good idea. I want to lay down also." They went to the bedroom and after making sure the bedding was clean, they laid down on the bed. Jessie snuggled up to James and laid her head on his chest and they held each other. A few minutes later, just as James was about to fall asleep, Jessie spoke softly. She was serious now and basically sober.

"The other night, James, when I woke up andbroke the glass, I had a dream." She stopped to see if he was listening and he gave a no to continue. "Well, actually it was a nightmare. But anyway, it made me worry about us. Us together and us in this job. I'm scared, James. I've never admitted or led onto it, but I have always been afraid in Team Rocket. Every time we encounter that damn electric rat, I just hope that we are all still breathing after hitting the ground after being blasted off. I hope everyday that we would just make it through , bit by bit. I worry about us and, well, I wish we were never force to join team Rocket. I wish I was never born into this. I hate it! All the guilt, humiliation, constant failure, and injury. Most of all, I hate Giovanni." She stopped and shuddered, spitting out his name. James kissed her head and held her closer. "I don't want my children to have the life I've had. I want out," she finished.

"I agree, Jess. I wish it would be easy to quit, but nobody quits and has a life afterwards. Someday, I want to get us out of here, though," said James quietly into Jessie's ear. "Jess," he continued, " I love you with all that I am, and I know we are meant to be. The thing is...I want to be with you forever. When we get out of here, I promise I will make you happy. I love you, Jess," James told her lovingly. She brought her head up to his and looked into his emerald eyes.

"I feel the same, James. I want an honest life with you, outside of all of this. I love you more than even myself, James. I don't think I admitted it to myself until the incident with the Boss. I understand you, and you understand me, James." They kissed again, this time with more emotion and hunger for each other than ever before. Eventually, they stopped to breath when they noticed the position they were in. Jessie was totally on top of James in a suggestive manner. Their eyes locked and no words needed to be spoken to express that they wanted one another. Jessie sat up, straddling James, and they undressed each other, enjoying the feel of their skin so close. They kissed again as James gently laid Jessie down on the bed underneath him.

"Jess, I know you have been hurt in the past, and I don't want you to feel pressured or hurt in any way. This is my first time, so I want it to be with someone I can trust and respect and who trusts and respects me. So, what I'm trying to ask is......are you sure you want to do this?"

"James, it is my first time also, and I want it to be with you now. I trust you, James. I'm a little scared, but I'm still willing to do this, James. I want to be close to you and I love you," Jessie reassured James. 

"I love you, too." James looked over his love's naked and beautifully built body, unable to stand it any longer. He wanted her, but he didn't want to disrespect her or make their first time anything but pure and genuine. James was cut from his thoughts when Jessie spoke.

"James, I hate where we are right now," she continued quickly after noticing the confused look on James' face. "I mean, I hate this building and city and.....and our job.... Let's......let's pretend, could we? Let's pretend that we are in our own home, with a nice bed, a fireplace, and lot of windows." She paused to look deeper into James' eyes that showed nothing but love and a desire to make her vision come true someday. "And we have made it out of Team Rocket without fear of being hunted or chased all our lives. And.....and....we are happily married also," Jessie said, blushing at the thought, and glad that the only light was coming from the moonlight.

"Sounds like the perfect life to me, Jessie," James agreed. That night, under the full moon, two people became lovers while a certain feline had business of his own to attend to.

***

"Meowth, he has been found out. Giovanni will have the Elite after his life and others' lives as well for his traitorous actions," informed the man.

"I need ta get him outta dere, den!," said Meowth, planning to get a move on.

"Wait! One thing.....your friends.......I'm afraid they are in danger as well." Meowth nodded a thanks and sped off. "And good luck.....," the man said in a sad voice after Meowth had left, then drank another glass of brandy. 

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I feel horrible about that! This chapter was a little longer than the others and I hoped you enjoyed it. Thanks again to Thorned Rose for helping me out and basically being my beta person. Well, please review. The next chapter will change the plot of the story completely, and I will post it asap. 


	4. Cat and Mouse

Chapter 4: Cat and Mouse

Screams could be heard throughout the building. A few gunshots rang throughout the cold and polluted morning air of Amberton, waking the two lovers from their deep and happy sleep. 

"Morning, beautiful. Did you sleep well?," asked James, kissing Jessie's forehead, thinking it was later in the morning and that they had woken up on their own. They were in disbelief of what had occurred the previous night and felt as complete as ever, content in their love for each other. Then another shot rang through the air.

"James? James, did you hear that?," asked Jessie, a worried expression upon her face.

"Yes, gunshots.....how strange..... And this early in the morning....hmmm....," responded James, thinking. "Maybe a fight broke out at the party?"

"I don't know. What time is it?," Jessie asked. She was still very tired and felt as if she only got one hour of sleep.

"It is around 3:45," said James after retrieving his watch from the pile of clothing next to the bed. They _had_ only gotten an hour of sleep. This time, they heard screaming and something breaking in the room beneath them.

"James, we should go find Meowth. Something is not right."

"Yeah, let's get out of here," James agreed, throwing Jessie her clothes. They kissed and then dressed quickly, a skill they had acquired over the many years of speedy costume changes in Team Rocket. They then listened against the door to hear if anybody was coming. They heard nothing. They opened the door slightly and nearly screamed with surprise when a cream colored furball squeezed through. 

"Meowth! Where have you been?," asked James.

"And what's going on?," Jessie asked.

"We need ta leave now. No time ta explain right now. Do youse two have all your pokemon wid youse?"

"Uh, yeah," answered a confused James.

"Meowth, what's happening? Who is shooting?," Jessie continued to interrogate him, as they were pushed out the door by Meowth.

"A traitor was discovered. The Elite are raiding da building, looking for him," Meowth finally answered, gulping and looking to his friends. "And we also need ta get youse two outta here as soon as possible," he finished, still leading his confused companions through the halls, and avoiding their further questions. "Stop! Shhhhh. Watch out, I tink somebody is coming dis way!" Meowth's acute hearing proved to be very useful in times like these. 

They stopped and scurried into a corner in the shadows, so as not to be spotted by whoever was nearing. Jessie held onto James and he held her as well, like they used to do when scared. Meowth stood, ready to pounce, should anything happen. Two men and a woman stealthily ascended the staircase and into the hallway that Jessie, James, and Meowth occupied. They were well armed, well built, silent, agile, smart, and well-trained. Overall, they were the top of the top, the Elite, and ready to kill anyone who got in their way. These people had nothing to lose and had a thirst to take revenge on the good-doing world. They were almost ruthless. They were not ruthless like Team Rocket minions because they were more cunning and they knew when their actions would achieve what they wanted. In other words, they knew not to lash out without knowing the result of what their actions would be. The Minions acted before they thought, and the Elite carefully and speedily calculated everything out before they acted. They were well-trained to the tiniest thing. All of their senses were sharpened, even more so than the regular agents, like Jessie, James, and Meowth.

James and Jessie were now shaking and they could almost hear the adrenaline pumping through their brains. The hair on Meowth's back and tail stood on end as he watched the Elite members walk down the dark hallway. One of the men, the larger one with black hair, motioned for the others to search a nearby room, but they found nothing. The other Elite could still be heard raiding the lower stories of the building. Next, the three Elite moved into Jessie's and James' room, knocking down the door and storming inside. Jessie, James, and Meowth heard one of the men kick something and curse. They caught part of their conversation.

"They must have escaped. Damnit!," the woman said.

"They couldn't have gone far, though. There is no way they could have escaped, unless they are more crafty than previously believed," one man said.

"We must continue searching. The others are finding the 'traitor', so it is the perfect time to find them. The Boss will have a nice little reward for us, and I don't want to fail," the male who had kicked something and cursed said, glaring at his two colleagues. "Well! Let's move!," he yelled at them, and they scurried out to continue looking. They continued to walk down the hall, searching the rooms. Jessie and James wondered who the three Elites were searching for, but they knew in the back of their minds that they were the prey. They had searched all the rooms, but they had all been evacuated already. They headed towards the staircase, ready to search a different level of the building, because what they were searching for had not been found. The black-haired man let his partners walk to the staircase, while he stopped in the hallway, still not convinced that his 'prey' was hiding somewhere else.

When the fiercer of the two men with the black hair stood in the middle of the hallway, searching for clues, he looked in their direction, thinking. Jessie gasped very slightly to herself, holding in her breath from fear, hoping they wouldn't notice them. Too bad this little act did the opposite of what she hoped. The male who was facing them locked his eyes on the shadow concealing them, then smirked, ever so evilly. He got his colleagues' attention and motioned to the shadow.

Jessie had her hand over her mouth, not believing that she could be so stupid. She never did dumb things like this, and wondered what had made her slip. They had been to Hell and back, but never had she made a mistake so horrible. Meowth was as tense as ever, the complete opposite of his human comrades who were violently trembling and holding each other tight enough to cause bruises. Meowth felt he had a job to do by protecting his two friends and by getting them out of the building. That was one of the things he came back to do after all. He had already tried to protect the 'traitor', seeing him off through an alley. He feared he wouldn't make it to safety, though. So, for now, he had to focus on his best, and possibly only, friends. He didn't know what The Boss wanted them for, but he knew he could not let them be taken. 

"Jess, whatever happens, I want you to know that I love you," James whispered into his love's ear. He knew that the Elite could hear him, but they had already discovered them, so there was no use in keeping quiet. James felt Jessie's body relax slightly, but still trembling, and she kissed him.

"I love you also, with all my heart, James," Jessie replied. James could not see her face very well in the dark, but knew that she had tears making little trails down her cheeks. They clung tighter to each other as their hunters approached and stopped just before the shadow.

"Hey, guys, I think I heard something," the woman cruelly and jokingly said to her team mates.

"I wonder where it could have come from," the smaller man said sarcastically. 

"It couldn't have come from this shadow, now could it?," the bigger man said, staring mockingly into the shadow, looking to Jessie and James. He couldn't see them, but he knew they were there, right where he was looking. He smiled. His team members suddenly pointed and cocked their guns at the shadow, level with Jessie's and James' heads. They closed their eyes and held each other, waiting for the inevitable. Suddenly, Jessie felt a man's strong and painful grip yank her so she screamed and James could feel her being ripped from his tight grasp.

"Jessie!"

"James!" The larger man holding her with a gun to her temple released her and backhanded her, making her hit the wall and slide to the floor in shock.

"Quiet, wench!," he spat at her. Pulling her up by her hair, making her scream again, he replaced the gun to her temple.

"Jessie! Don't you dare lay a hand on her again, you bastard!," James yelled, wanting nothing more than to punch that man and get his Jessie back, but the other two Elite's guns pointed at him made him rethink. Instead, James looked into Jessie's eyes. The blue spheres held silent tears and seemed to tell James that she loved him. 

"Better watch your tongue! 'Accidents' happen quite often with firearms, you know. Wouldn't want any unfortunate things happening that would affect my ability to work, now would we?," the woman said, with a smirk across her face. James stared coldly at her, trying to hide the helpless feeling he felt. Meowth waited, still unnoticed, for the right time to attack. He would only attack if things got out of hand and his friends desperately needed him, because he could not risk being found out by the Elites. He had to stay hidden because somebody had to be able to protect his friends if they were taken out.

"What do you want with us?," James asked as calmly as he could muster, his eyes now locked on Jessie. She was writhing under the man's forceful grip on her wrists and the cold gun against her temple gave her a feeling of fear she never knew to be possible. She felt numb and only her brain seemed to be working, and she was frustrated because her body wouldn't move to her mind's requests. She felt weak and helpless, feelings she hated because she liked to feel she had control over her life. 

"We don't want anything with you two. But someone does and will be most disappointed if we do not carry through with our job, so if you don't mind, we'll be leaving now," said the smaller man, the others prepared to leave with Jessie who was struggling to get free, but the black-haired man was too strong.

"Let her go!," ordered James. He had stepped completely out of the shadows so the Elite could see him. He had his fists clenched and a determined look on his face. He couldn't allow his Jess to get taken by these people. He had no idea what they were taking her for or for what purposes, but he knew they weren't good. 

"Don't meddle in things that are way over your head and out of your control, boy," the woman said, her gun pointed at his head. "I told you before and I won't tell you again to not interfere with our business."

James lunged at the cruel woman, screaming, despite his warning from her. 

"Why you son of a bitch! You don't listen do you?!," the smaller man said, slightly entertained, when James tackled the woman to the ground, punching her face. James usually held strong beliefs against hitting women, but this was no woman. This was a horrible person who was taking his love away from him. That was all he had left, his love for Jessie. He was afraid when he admitted his love to Jessie because that gave him something to lose, and he had never had anything or anyone to lose before in his life. He was not going to let them take the only person that mattered to him. Suddenly, James heard Jessie scream his name and he felt a white hot pain in his leg. The woman he was attacking got up and kicked him hard in the ribs as while he was disabled by the pain in his leg.

"I should kill you now. But that was not one of His orders," the woman sneered at James, who was holding his leg in pain. The smaller man had shot him, he figured.

"James! James! Don't let them take me! Please James!," Jessie yelled as the man holding her began to carry her away. When James heard this, he stood up, despite the pain, and in a blind rage, tried to take them on. But he was outnumbered and had no weapons. He knew they would take his pokemon if he brought them out, and figured that Jessie had thought the same, so he continued to swing at them, knocking them over. They beat him down, though, his pain increasing each second. With his last efforts, he knocked down the man holding Jessie and she rolled from his grasp a few feet. James tried to strangle the man, pinning him down, when he looked up to see Jessie with the man's gun. It must have fallen from him when I knocked him over, James figured. James also noticed that the two other Elite's were busy fighting something else behind him, by the sounds of it. James continued to pin down and strangle the man, giving him a look of hatred for touching Jessie. James felt a new strength in his body, which gave him the ability to take on this man who was much bigger than he was. It was the kind of strength heard of when a mother sees her child trapped under a car, and finds the power to lift the vehicle. Adrenaline had its advantages.

Jessie had now crept up, the gun pointed for the Elite's head. She cocked the gun and hesitated, for she had never taken a life before, and was thinking of the consequences. James nodded reassuringly to Jessie to shoot the man, then saw the man smirk very slightly in a "don't be so sure you'll win" kind of way as he looked over James' shoulder.

A gun went off and Jessie screamed, then dropped to the floor. The gun she was holding slid across the floor, out of her grip. Blood formed a small puddle around her torso and the larger man laughed. "Jessie......," James whispered. He howled and punched the man, but was punched even harder back. He punched, kicked, and tackled the man, who was now standing over James, only to be hit with twice as much force as he was using. Darkness began to engulf him and he tried to fight it, but was loosing.

"Jessie......no......." James' agony ripped his mind apart at seeing his lifeless partner. Thoughts and memories flooded through his mind of the times they shared together and of the previous night. Everything was happening so fast: James telling Jessie he loves her, the party, the previous night, and now this. Everything was crashing down on him, including his consciousness. Memories and thoughts of hope and longing pushed him up, though. Trying desperately to get back up to Jessie, he was knocked down again after the woman continued to repeatedly kick him for attacking her. The last thing he saw before darkness overcame him was Meowth lunge at the Elites carrying Jessie away and a picture of her in his mind.

Meowth couldn't stand it anymore. He tried to let Jessie and James fight them off on their own, for fear of being discovered as an aid to the 'traitor', but it came to the point where he couldn't stand it anymore. He had first lunged for the Elite who had shot James, then woman came to assist the male and Meowth attacked her also. He scratched and clawed with all the skill he possessed, causing the two Elite to recoil back at him. They hit him and kicked him, sending him flying a few times against the wall. Through his beatings, Meowth saw the woman notice the black-haired man being strangled. She stepped away from helping get rid of Meowth, raised her gun, and shot out to kill James, but hit Jessie instead because Meowth had scratched her in an attempt to save his friends. He lunged for the woman again, seeing his friend drop to the floor. She pulled him off her face and threw him, causing him to land near the smaller man. That man received nasty cuts and gashes from Meowth as he lunged for him, but Meowth was too small and couldn't cause enough damage. The man grabbed Meowth and swung his head into the wall, instantly making him pass out. 

"Come on, we are done here, and He will be pleased," the larger man said. Jessie's body was slung over his shoulder, bloodying it, but he was used to worse things. The other two smirked at James' and Meowth's bodies that lay on the floor of the dark hallway before following the skilled black-haired Elite down the stairs with their prize.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I was originally planning on combining this with the last chapter, but decided against it, and that is why it is kinda short. Reviews always welcome, please! 


	5. Stars

Chapter 5: Stars

The smell of musty old water and cold metal reached her nose as she woke from a most unpleasant dream. A 'drip.....drip.....drip' of water droplets could be heard in the hollow room, and she could also hear some shuffling of feet and clothing. The next thing she noticed was pain. Her side ached and throbbed. She could feel the blood move through her side with every beat of her heart. Her fingers made their way to touch her injured side, and felt a thick gauzy material over it, obviously a bandage or something. The air around her was cool and she felt a breeze as somebody came near. Her mind wasn't completely awake yet, and she didn't know where she was or what time of day it was. Her eyes slowly opened, a shadow of a man stood above her.

"J-.......Ja-," she tried, but was cut off.

"Giovanni. That's right," he answered coolly. It was The Boss, Giovanni, looming above Jessie. He had thought Jessie was saying his name, not James. He looked down at the defenseless woman lying on her back on the floor in front of him and noticed her breathing become faster and fear show itself on her face, although he could tell she was trying to hide it as her eyes adjusted to the lighting and she saw him. All people have cringed at the sight of his intimidating features and attitude, and he reveled in their fear of him. He felt all-powerful and strong. Now, this woman was at his mercy. It was his turn for revenge. 

Jessie had now gathered most of her senses, although she guessed she had been drugged at some point, because she didn't feel quite right. She tried to creep away from this horrible man, using her elbows and legs to move herself backwards. She felt cool stone against her shoulder as she hit the wall. She was trapped in some sort of cell or room, and the man she most feared was smirking as he loomed over her. He took a few steps towards her, watching her press herself against the wall as if she could go right through it in an attempt to stay away from him. 

"Jessica, daughter of Miyamoto, the greatest and most beautiful Rocket of her time. Aahhhh......the memories," he said to Jessie. She wondered what he was getting at with these mind games. "Jessica, of the profound Team Rocket......." He paused, looking to his captive with dark and venomous eyes. "..........Jessica, of _my_ Team Rocket," he finished in a voice that Jessie did not like one bit. He took another step forward towards her, when she yelled out.

"Leave me alone! What do you want from me?!" Fear was evident in her voice as she yelled at him with as much courage and strength she could manage. Her side hurt when she breathed deeply, and yelling at Giovanni required a lot of breath. Giovanni just stared at her, listening to her quick breathing and her screams echo through the large and empty cell-like enclosure. The 'drip.......drip.......drip' could still be heard in the room. She tried her best to calm herself down and gather her senses to find out where she was, but to no avail. She was paranoid that the second she looked away, Giovanni would advance on her again, so she continued to stare back at him. Then a new sound was brought to her ears. Low and deep evil laughter came from Giovanni. 

"Well, my pet, I want two things actually....." Jessie did not like the tone of his voice. Well, she never had, but now it seemed to be more menacing than she had ever heard it before. He took a few more steps towards her so he was now standing over her again, enjoying the sight of his trapped captive. "I want revenge....," he started. ".....and I want _you_," he hissed into her ear as he wrapped his hand around her hair and pulled her up. Jessie screamed as loud as she could, not minding the pain in her side and heart. Giovanni muffled her scream with his disgusting mouth. He smelled of alcohol, smoke, and a bad peppermint cologne. 

She desperately yearned for James to be here. The last time Giovanni had jumped on her, James had saved her. Flashbacks filled her mind and tears filled her eyes as Giovanni continued to violently kiss her.

***

__

"Come on, Jessie! I know you don't want to go in there, and neither do I, but we need to be paid and we will be in even more trouble if we don't go now. Those damn twerps have made us even more late, and if we are any later The Boss will really threaten us. So, come on," James urged his partner. 

"Alright, fine......It's just.....I have a funny feeling about this today, James," she replied, worry clearly evident in her voice.

"Jess, don't you worry your pretty little head about anyting! James and I are here wid ya!," Meowth had said, smiling. 

"Okay, fine, I'm coming......but something still doesn't seem right," she replied, following her team-mates through the doors of the headquarters.

***

Her side hurt even more as Giovanni threw her over his shoulder, carrying her through the door of the cell-like room and down the halls. She cried and screamed, beating her fists against his back. She knew it was in vain though, because he wasn't even flinching at her hits, but instead, he seemed to enjoy them. 

Through her tears, she stole a few glances of other Rockets in the halls. The second they saw Giovanni in his mad state, they ran off out of the way to business of their own. It would be mad to stop him. Every time they witnessed him dragging some poor girl away from the cells, they never saw the girl again. Some say the were killed, others say they killed themselves, and others said they were just locked up forever or used in experiments. Basically, nobody knew what happened to their boss' victims or what he did to them, although they all had pretty good (or bad) ideas.

Jessie was angry and wondered why nobody was helping her. She couldn't believe that people could be so heartless. But then again, this was Team Rocket. Most of the Rockets had hearts and goals, but just screwed up at one point in their life and ended up in this evil organization. There were some Rockets, however, that were really heartless. The Elite appeared to be heartless, and the scientists and cell-keepers as well. Giovanni, also. Jessie needed James now, in this heartless place, for he was full of light, warmth, safety, love, and heart.

She didn't know where she was, how she had gotten there, or when. All she remembered was herself holding the black-haired Elite's gun back at the hotel, ready to kill him. She had never killed before, and hoped she would never need to, so she hesitated to gather her thoughts. She looked to James' eyes and was about to shoot, but a pain, like a train had hit her, entered her side. Then she slid to the ground, a picture of James in her mind, and then darkness overwhelmed her. Then she woke up in that cell. 

Now, she felt her energy leaving her, but she kept on hitting Giovanni and screaming with all she had. She was determined to fight till the end. She would rather die fighting than live and be helpless. But, she still wished James was here to save her and comfort her and to wash all her fears away. Giovanni shrugged slightly, readjusting Jessie on his shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain. Whatever drugs she had been issued were now worn off and she could feel the full extent of pain from her wound. The bullet had grazed her side, she figured, because she was obviously still alive. 

Giovanni had now carried her for at least ten minutes through various halls, secret passages, and rooms. Now, they were entering a section of wall that opened to a hidden passageway. This room felt warmer than the other rooms, but smelled just as bad, maybe even worse. It smelt of smoke, alcohol, and peppermint. Jessie realized where they were now. Giovanni had brought her to his own personal quarters. She could barely see through tears that his rooms were dark and the walls were all a very darkly stained wood color. She kicked, hit, cursed, and flailed as much as she could to release herself from this monster. He laughed evilly again, throwing her. 

As she was flung from his shoulder, she expected to land on hard ground. Instead, she landed on something much worse. She was thrown onto a bed. She felt all blood leave her face and she tried to scramble away, but she wasn't fast enough. 

"Stay away! Get off of me! GET OFF OF ME!!," she screamed, hitting Giovanni as he pinned her down, trying savagely to kiss her. Finally, she slapped him, screaming, "YOU BASTARD!! Get away from me! I HATE YOU!!" This only seemed to make him do the opposite. He continued to advance on her.

***

__

"Jess, don't worry. Everything will be fine. Every time we have to go in there, we have been scared, but nothing ever happens. The worst that happens is that The Boss yells at us and occasionally throws a coffee mug against the wall or something. Nothing to really fear. Come on," James said. He squeezed Jessie's hand to comfort her, then walked ahead to catch up to Meowth. Jessie followed behind her companions into the headquarters.

They made their way through the halls and corridors to The Boss' meeting room. James looked to Jessie, and seeing as how she was still skeptical and worried about even being there, he knew he had to take a deep breath and be the first to enter the room. He knocked slightly on the large and expensive wooden door before opening it. The trio entered the dim room and stood up straight in front of The Boss' desk, waiting for him to move from his position in his chair. He was sitting in his desk chair with his back to them, and he was silhouetted by the little light that escaped the curtains from the window behind him. Smoke clouded about his head and filled the room with the strong smell of imported cigars. After a while of just standing and waiting for their boss to turn and address them, Meowth decided to speak up.

"Boss, sir......," he started nervously, "Jessie, James, and I are here for our meeting, sir." The trio saw another puff of smoke come from behind the dark chair, but Giovanni didn't turn or even speak to acknowledge their presence. An uncomfortable silence followed, with only the sound of a cigar being puffed and the nervous breathing of Jessie, James, and Meowth audible in the meeting room. The Boss knew exactly how to intimidate people effectively to make them cower under his rule. After a minute of the awkward silence, he finally spoke to the trio, but stayed facing the window with his back to them.

"So, what did you three fools manage to bring me this time?" James, Jessie, and Meowth were glad that The Boss had his back to them, because he would have seen them cringe if he was turned around.

"We are very close to capturing that very powerful and special Pikachu, sir. I believe that we will have it very soon and-," James started. Giovanni turned his chair around to face his frightened employees, still smoking his cigar. There was no expression evident on his face other than boredom, but his eyes betrayed him. They shone with the little light in the room with an angry and furious stare. 

"So, you three once again managed to be the most incompetent and unsuccessful team on your league, I believe," said The Boss as his neck and facial muscles tensed. "As I have told you all before, it is **my** money being wasted to fund **your **folly expeditions! It is **my** organization that is getting an unwanted reputation because of **your** silly appearances and schemes! And it is **my** time being wasted because of **your** idiotic actions!" The Boss was now standing with his fists slammed down on his desk, his cigar in an ashtray, and his face now showing just how infuriated he really was. He was breathing loudly from screaming at them and was watching them intently, waiting for a reply that would not enrage him further. Meowth was standing as upright as possible next to James, while trying to suppress the urge to yell out in defense of him and his hardworking human companions. James was standing stiffly, like he was preparing to be punched or yelled at and badgered more. He was trying to be strong and brave, even though on the inside, he felt like running away or cowering behind Jessie. He couldn't hide behind Jessie though, because she was the one hiding behind him. She hadn't spoken a single word since entering the meeting room and was acting very strange. Clenching her teeth and staring down at the floor in shame was all she could do to try and control her nervous and frightened shaking form. This was unlike Jessie to have her eyes cast downward in fear and shame. She was supposed to always hold her head high with pride and stay strong no matter what, James thought. He really did despise what their Boss did to his friends.

* * *

"My, my, my. Aren't you rebellious," Giovanni said mockingly. He reached over to his nightstand for the bottle of alcohol with one hand and greedily gulped most of the contents down. He was already drunk, and he was only getting worse with every swallow. He still had Jessie pinned down with his other hand while he continued to devoured the liquid. Some of the toxic drink missed Giovanni's mouth and dripped down, moistening Jessie's arm, making her cringe at the coldness of the drink on her skin and it's acrid smell. Soon, the bottle was emptied by the leader of Team Rocket and was thrown against the wall, glass shattering as a result of his madness. Jessie continued to struggle against Giovanni's advances on her while her mind screamed for James. 

* * *

__

Giovanni stared angrily at the faces of his three employees, waiting for a response of some sort. A whimper, explanation, or beg would have been sufficient for now. Any noise that revealed their fear that would send a pleasant tingle down his spine from his acute ears would have been enough for Giovanni. But only silence ensued. Giovanni picked up his cigar again and puffed out a large cloud of smoke. Silence followed his puff as he continued to just stare at his employees in evil amusement. The deadly silence was almost more amusing than the sweet sounds of pleading, he thought. Giovanni continued like this, making the three frightened beings in front of him suffer in the silence, afraid to speak.

*Puff*

*Puff*

*Puff*

This was most enjoyable now to him. It was all he could do to not break out in ironic laughter at his enjoyment of his cruel intimidating game of silence. His little game was ended when James cleared his throat slightly.

"Uh.....Sir?," started James, "as we said, we are doing our best and we are truly sorry for our failures......But we plan on succeeding from now on, Sir."

"Hmmm.....Yes, well, I've heard it all before, James," sighed Giovanni in a bored nonchalant manner as he put out his cigar in the ash tray before continuing. "But how do I know that you will succeed? I've given you three countless chances to redeem yourselves, but all you fools seem capable of is failure." Giovanni shook his head in disapproval. He loved playing mind games with his subjects and he loved the fact that he was always a few steps ahead of them. He glanced over to see Jessie staring at a select point on the floor, trying to contain her shaking form. "Now, what do you have to say for your miserable team, Jessie?" Giovanni noticed that Jessie was acting more frightened than usual, and only James had spoken up today, which was very unusual. He figured that his ill-intentioned glances to her caught her off guard. 

Being the leviathan he was, he wasn't ashamed to admit that he was attracted to the red-head. He could even go as far to say that he lusted for her. Jessie meant more to Giovanni than she would ever know, actually. Not only did he lust for her, but his want for her ran deep into his mind, although even he didn't know how deep yet. Lust, anger, revenge, and a much more sinister plan could all be fulfilled through Jessie. But Giovanni hadn't figured this out yet. But he did know that he lusted for her and admired her potential in Team Rocket. That was one of the reasons he kept her on the team. Her mother, Miyamoto, also influenced Giovanni's decisions regarding Jessie and her team-mates. He hated James though.

James could've had more money than Giovanni, but he threw it all away. To Giovanni, that was just plain idiocy. He also spited the fact that James could be more powerful than himself if he claimed his money. Things from James' past also indirectly haunted Giovanni greatly. Overall, Giovanni spited James, and that gave him more reason to lust for Jessie, because he had suspected a special bond between the two. Giovanni's motives were all wrapped up in the roots of his team's past, his own past, his battle with the law, and the future. 

Back to the situation at hand, Giovanni waited for a reply from Jessie, who was trying to find words within her throat. Giovanni got up from his chair and walked over to stand in front of Jessie, James, and Meowth. He could tell that his employees were close to panicking, which was perfect. That made them vulnerable. He waited for a response from the stuttering Jessie. James and Meowth glanced to her with pity, worry, and fear hidden beneath their features.

"Well, Sir......You see.....I......Um.....We........I would have to say that-," she was abruptly cut off by Giovanni. He couldn't take it anymore, he just couldn't. He lost control. He had silenced the terrified woman with his own disgusting lips, pressing himself to her, restraining her against the wall. She was too shocked and scared to even move. Luckily, James and Meowth weren't.

"Let her go! You fucking bastard! Get your hands off of her right now!" James knew that he shouldn't have said what he did to The Boss, but the fury inside of him came out. James pulled on Giovanni's shoulder, detaching him from roughly kissing Jessie, then punched him in the jaw all in a split second. James knew that he would be punished, possibly 'taken away' for what he had just done. Nobody had ever hit The Boss and gotten away with it. James wasn't afraid though. He would rather protect the woman he secretly loved and suffer a thousand deaths, than just stand by and let his love be violated by that monster. 

"Jessie, get out of here!," yelled James as he continued to fight with Giovanni. "Just run! I'll take care of th-," James couldn't finish his order due to a hit from Giovanni. Jessie was too stunned and scared to move and do what James told her to do. Her mind told her to move and get out of there and help James, but her body didn't respond. She just slid to the floor against the wall, staring at the fist fight taking place in front of her, trying to get a hold on herself. The feeling of Giovanni's ill-tasting mouth still lingered on her lips and she had to suppress the strong urge to vomit. Luckily, Meowth used a light scratch attack to snap Jessie out of her trance of terror and help her up. 

Giovanni and James were now squaring off, waiting to read their opponents next move. Giovanni had a bloody lip and James had a cut on his left cheek near his eye from one of Giovanni's ring cutting into his flesh. James was now in defensive mode and Giovanni was trying to end this fight with himself being the victor. James was now only waiting for Giovanni to 'end' the fight or for his boss to slip up and leave him with a route of escape. 

James' opportunity came when Giovanni threw a punch at him, but it was dodged in a swift motion. While their boss was still caught off guard by James' quick movement, Meowth scratch attacked him, giving James time to escape with Jessie. Giovanni grabbed his face in pain and then grabbed for a chair in his office, preparing to hurl it towards the door Meowth was attempting to reach as an exit. 

Meowth ran as fast as he could through the door and didn't stop till he caught up with his teammates. Their boss could clearly be heard howling out obscenities and various threats to them from inside his office. 

"THAT'S IT!!!!! YOU WON'T GET AWAY!!!! JUST REMEMBER THAT I OWN YOU!!!! I FUCKING OWN YOU THREE FOOLS!!!!! I COULD HAVE YOU KILLED FOR THIS!!!!!! THANKS TO YOURSELVES, YOUR PAY IS NEXT TO NOTHING!!!!!! ONE MORE SLIP-UP AND I WILL HAVE YOU IMBECILES EXECUTED!!!!!! YOU ARE DISGRACES TO TEAM ROCKET!!!!!!!," he continued to yell as Jessie, James, and Meowth caught their breath down the hall a ways. They winced in fear as he yelled because his words stung them for many reasons. They were really on their last line now, they were going to have even less money now, and they were on their boss' very bad side. One more mess-up and they would definitely cease to exist. 

"Are you alright, Jessie?," asked James, still catching his breath. Jessie nodded in response, her breathing still fast and her heart still racing from what had just happened. "Alright, then let's get out of here for the time being. It isn't safe."

They hastily left their headquarters without speaking a single word the whole time. When they reached the surrounding forest, Meowth let out a sigh of relief of getting away, and of awareness of their new predicament. Then Jessie spoke.

"Thanks, James," Jessie said meekly, blushing slightly from embarrassment of what their boss had done to her. He turned his head to look at her and she continued. "If you wouldn't have stopped The Boss, then I would be in real trouble........ Thanks."

"No problem. What are friends for, eh? I know times will be even tougher without hardly any food or money, but we'll stick together no matter what? Right?" James extended his right arm. Jessie then placed her hand on top of James', received a reassuring smile from James, then was followed by Meowth. 

"Right! Friends forever!," they all said in unison. 

* * *

Jessie remembered all the times they had said "friends forever!" like it was yesterday. At this point though, she didn't know if she could last forever. Giovanni was continuing in his crazed actions, stripping her of all her clothing and dignity. She cried silent tears and stared out the window to the moon, hoping and praying that she would someday see James again and that he could hear her message.

Suddenly, she felt a huge weight on her, and discovered that Giovanni had fallen unconscious in his drunken and drugged insane state. She closed her eyes tightly, tears streaming down her face now in joy, instead of fear. Her hopes had been answered. She pushed Giovanni off of her and set up the situation to look as if he had done what he had intended to do. If she set it up to look as if the act of rape had occurred, then possibly she would be let go in the morning if Giovanni thought he did what he wanted to do. She was lucky that she had managed to protect herself from this monster. 

Looking to the night's sky to the stars and moon, she pictures James adoring face in her mind before forcing herself into a troubled sleep.

To be continued.........

A/N: Please review!!! Sorry this took so long to get posted, but some things have been going on lately.......I'll spare you all though. So, please tell be what you think, it would be much appreciated. And thanks again to Thorned Rose and everybody else who 


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